He kept his arms folded on his lap. Looking to the side, Liam watched the tree line for any signs of another attack. Morgarina sat in front of him, driving the large warbird forward. Now and then she would glance behind herself to make sure he wasn’t slipping off the warbird. Laughing slightly, Morgarina could see a nervous frown on his face. After all, she was blind and having a blind person oversee his safety was probably not a very comforting idea.

Placing a hand onto Liam’s leg, Morgarina looked back to face him.

“You know, if you like, you can ask me any questions?” She spoke.

“Shouldn’t you keep your eyes on the road?” Liam said, accidentally sounding more hostile than he intended to be. He went to backtrack but seeing Morgarina smile, he realised he hadn’t upset her after all.

“Sorry...” He muttered, just wanting to reassure himself that he hadn’t offended her.

“Do not worry human…Liam,” Morgarina said awkwardly.

“It's fine…” Liam also responded, just as awkward as her. Unlike her other sister, and by Amazonian standards, she seemed like a ‘normal’ person. But that was the problem, Liam dreaded seeing her extreme side come out.

Liam’s leg twitched. It felt like static flowing through his leg. Not knowing what the feeling was, he understandably looked to his left leg where the feeling was coming from. Now and then, the gentle hand of Morgarina would tap his leg. Intensely he watched as her hand tapped his leg again. There it was again, the shock of electricity. The feeling had been coming from her.

Morgarina seemed to notice his stare as she turned again to face him. Her soft, white eyes looked to him as she fumbled to grab her mask from her leg. Lifting it slowly, she carefully placed the mask onto her face.

“Sorry about that, I have a bad habit of doing that to people who I have just met,” Morgarina explained as she went back to riding the warbird. For a while longer they sat in silence before Morgarina decided to break the ice.

“Are you hurt at all? I heard you were attacked by Skull Takers,” Morgarina asked sheepishly. Still sounding nothing like her other two sisters.

“I managed to stab Kreoilipe, but even with a Kukuna knife she simply shrugged off the attack,” Liam said, only now realising how quickly she shrugged off his attack.

“She is a little… impulsive I think is the right human word. She often attacks without thinking, then she simply wanders off during fights when she either thinks she will lose or she has forgotten why she was there,” Morgarina said, sighing as if her sister attacking at random was a regular event.

“Yeah, I saw that. She just wandered off once I had attacked her, I think she will be back soon though. Sadly,” Liam said, seeing she was going to be one of the harder sisters to get onto his side. Morgarina laughed.

“My sister is indeed stubborn,” Morgarina laughed as she placed her hand onto his leg again. Another shock of electricity went through him. Liam frowned. She answered questions as if she could listen to his thoughts. Tensing her back, she kept her focus forward, realising what she had done.

“So, that little thing you keep doing to my leg. What is that?” Liam asked, wanting to squeeze some information out of Morgarina about her powers.

“S…Sorry, I have a habit of using my powers on people who I do not trust yet, as I said. It is just one of my powers. If I touch you and place some magic into you temporarily, I can see your memories, I can see your thoughts. But this only lasts for a while,” Morgarina said, too nervous and embarrassed to turn to face Liam.

“Are you adopted?” Liam said, not feeling scared at the thought of such a seemingly harmless person reading his thoughts.

“Ha! I wish, I knew I am nothing like my sisters,” Morgarina laughed.

“Can I just say, feel free to read my mind, just don’t dive too deep into my memories. There are things in there I’d rather forget, things I haven’t even told Yantraki,” Liam said, still trying to keep the mood calm whilst indicating he wasn’t going to bow to her will.

“I’m sorry, I will try to forget what I have seen… but may I ask one thing?” Morgarina said, looking back at Liam.

“Can I ask about a boy in your memories? Arran,” Liam’s eyes widened. Ripping off his belt, he’d wrapped it around Morgarina’s neck in the blink of an eye.

“Ask about him again and I can assure you, that you will face a fate far worse than death,” Liam whispered to her, tightening his grip. Carefully, Morgarina placed her hand onto his leg again.

“Do you mind if I have another look into your thoughts?” Morgarina said, looking to her left. Liam followed her gaze. Two women on the warbird next to them had arrows aimed at Liam. Looking to the right, there were several more warriors. All wore black folds of cloth wrapped around their eyes.

“Huh, cunning for an amazon. You planned this right?” Liam said, a little impressed at her foresight.

“I planned originally to do it when we were alone back at my tribe but seeing… well not seeing but feeling an opportunity, I struck. Do not take it personally, I simply want to have a little leverage in our negotiations. You know, some little mind games I can play with you if you start to give offers that insult me and my people,” Morgarina said, slowly taking his belt from around her neck. Examining the crude, colony-made leather belt, she marvelled at the soft feeling against her fingers.

“You outsiders have very interesting clothes. Useless, yet nice,” Morgarina said as she handed his belt back to him. Like Morgarina, the warriors couldn’t see, but for them, it was because of their blindfolds rather than their inability to see. This little fact was something that interested Liam. Not wanting to be put off by Morgarina’s intimidation (whether intentional or not) Liam wanted to try to turn the tables of this pre-negotiation.

“How do you see?” Liam asked. Morgarina thought for a few seconds, considering if she should reveal some of her secrets to him.

“I’ll tell you on one condition, allow me to see through your eyes,” Morgarina said, placing her hand onto his leg again. Liam stayed silent for a while, trying his best to interpret what she was saying.

“I can’t see with my own eyes, but when I come into contact with those… not to sound rude, but lesser beings like yourself, I can use the same magic I use to look through your mind and memories to look through your eyes. I swear I shall not go into your mind; I just simply want to look through your eyes,” Morgarina said as she caressed his leg. Liam stayed quiet for a little while longer.

“Do anything with my mind, even if you have guards, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” Liam said, keeping a hand on his belt, the other hand on a small knife tucked into the back of his trousers.

He acted as if he hadn’t noticed, but he knew Yantraki had slipped it in there as a surprise if he felt threatened. A zap of electricity flew through Liam’s leg. Morgarina gasped, gripping his leg tighter.

“May you look into this, I wish to see your face more fully,” Morgarina pulled out a small piece of steel, probably taken from some damaged human-machine or weapon they had come across on one of their raids on the mainland.

“We did not find this on a raid, it was given to me by a human who escaped the Thorn shields. He gave me some of their metals and materials, I then allowed him to take a boat and go out to sea. I think the human may have died though, the whirlpools around the Island stop people from entering and leaving the island,” Morgarina said as she offered the piece of metal to Liam.

“I thought I said NOT to look into my mind?” Liam grumbled as he looked down into the metal.

“Sorry…” Morgarina muttered. She didn’t care much for his anger, instead, she was focused on staring at his reflection.

Fascinated by the silver hair of the human, she gestured for him to come closer. Liam complied with her request. Once he was close enough, she reached a handout. Placing a hand on his head, she started to run her hand through his soft curls.

“You look like a good man,” she said as she leaned back against him.

Her body was warm. Liam felt his eyelids growing heavy as she massaged his scalp. A shock of energy ran through Liam’s body, forcing him to jump back, accidentally pushing Morgarina forward as he did so. Another cramp gripped his chest as the slave seal activated. It seemed Yantraki didn’t like the fact he was getting this level of attention.

“It seems my sister seems doesn’t like you enjoying yourself if it doesn’t involve her.” Morgarina giggled as she released her grip over Liam.

“It’s fine, I’m used to it,” Liam joked as he caught his breath. Once he’d calmed down, he decided to carry on his investigation into Morgarina’s powers.

“So then, you have had your fun. If you don’t mind, could you tell me your power, or at least how you can see,” Liam questioned. Morgarina thought for a few seconds. Biting her lip, she fulfilled her part of the deal.

“How much do you know about magic?” Morgarina began.

“Enough,”

“Well then, allow me to explain. I can only see the magic in the air. It is like countless dots in the air. I can see your shape in the dots. They move around you like they are water,” Morgarina said, still not fully explaining how this worked to Liam.

“I do not wish to talk much further into this subject, don’t take it personally, it is just that I’ve yet to decide whether you are my enemy or my ally,” Morgarina said, doing well to keep up her end of the deal, yet still not give Liam all the details he sought.

“I see.” Liam sighed, wishing he’d gotten more out of her.

For the remainder of the ride, the two sat in silence. The only interaction between them was when Liam almost fell off the warbird. Morgarina did her best to hide her laughter, but it was no use as Liam would jab her in the side, only causing her to laugh more. Other than these small interactions, the two kept to themselves and soon arrived at Morgarina’s village.

Tall, magnificent blue banners snapped in the wind as they approached the towering wooden walls. One of the other Amazons rode in front of them. As the rider made it to the walls they yelled up to someone out of sight. The well-crafted wooden gates opened, and the group were allowed inside. Liam’s eyes scanned the walls as they entered. He could immediately see a hundred or so Amazons in the same blue cloth skirts, tops and blindfolds.

Remembering Morgarina’s words, he guessed that the other Amazons of the tribe had similar abilities to her, seeing magic around themselves and shapes within it. Looking to the village, he could see that hundreds of Amazons already were pouring out of their houses to come and greet their leader. Drawing a deep breath Liam kept his eyes forward avoiding the gaze of the crowd. Even though their eyes were covered, he could still feel their sharp gaze interrogating him.

“Relax, they wouldn't dare do something without my permission,” Morgarina reassured.

“I would prefer it if you didn't read my mind,” Liam said, moving a little closer to Morgarina for reassurance.

“I wasn’t, you simply reek of fear,” Morgarina said, a little chuckle in her voice as she rode her warbird through the village.

Liam calmed himself and tried his best not to listen to all the murmurs and chatter coming from the crowd, but the feeling of hostility was almost tangible. It was understandable, like most Amazons when they first met him, they also probably assumed he was a male Amazon. He muttered and cursed to himself, shaming himself for not being used to this scrutiny. After all, he got it wherever he went.

For a few agonisingly long minutes, they rode through the village until they reached the bottom of a large, bluestone temple. Dismounting her warbird, Morgarina walked over to the bottom of the stone temple. Looking up the long flight of stairs, Liam could see there were three platforms with large staircases connecting each one, ascending ever higher into the air. At the midpoint of the platforms stood a large stone altar, he guessed quickly what purpose that served amongst the tribe.

Above the second platform sat in a large, stone building, maybe a preparation area? He assumed this was probably some form of a town hall or gathering point. Taking another deep breath, he calmed his nerves. Morgarina glanced back to look at him, waving a hand she gestured for him to follow her. Not wanting to be around the superstitious crowd or wanting to waste any more time, Liam quickly followed.

Scuttling briskly after her, Liam followed her up the stone steps of the temple. Glancing down to the rock he stood on as he climbed, he recognised the temple was made out of Kukuna. They had made the temple out of Kukuna. If they were to melt this all down, they would have enough material to make enough weapons to arm a million Amazonian warriors.

Hi noticed Morgarina glancing back to look at him, her ability probably meant she could sense his marvel at the temple. Making the temple out of Kukuna was a shrewd move. Any visitor couldn’t fail to be impressed by the grandeur and expense of such a monument. Or it was there to terrify those unfortunate enough to be captured and sacrificed upon the stone altar.

Pushing aside his amazement and focusing on the task at hand, Liam returned to following Morgarina up the steps of the temple. Three-hundred maybe four-hundred steps later they reached the first platform. Scattered around the platform were piles of furs and what looked to be feather pillows handcrafted by the native people. Again, this was all appeared to Liam to be intentionally placed here to show off the wealth and expertise the tribe had at creating these commodities.

They continued their ascent of the temple again. Another four hundred or so steps to the second platform. Liam paused, taken aback for a few seconds as he glanced around from his new vantage point. A statue of a woman holding a circle in one hand, probably there to represent the moon. On the other hand a large stone knife. Below the statue sat the stone altar that Liam had seen the tip of from the bottom of the temple. Like the first platform, everything here was masterfully placed to catch the eye of visitors and without words, tell them the brutality of the tribe.

In contrast to the first platform, the second one was meant to depict the religious and brutal side of the tribe. The cracks between the paved stone below them were filled with the dried blood of countless sacrifices. Hundreds of poles lined the edge of the platform, terminating in the grisly spectacle of enemy warriors’ heads impaled upon them. The only thing on the second platform that wasn't smeared with blood was ironically the sacrificial altar and the statue. Liam couldn’t piece together why these two items were left untouched, but he put that aside again as he followed Morgarina up the next flight of stairs to the third and final platform.

Unlike the last two flights of stairs the final one only had about two-hundred steps before reaching the third platform. Here he was greeted by the overwhelming size of the structure of the religious building or whatever it was, he wasn't sure what the right name for this building was amongst the native people. Huge 20-foot-tall doors were decorated with Jewels and patterns again flaunting the wealth of the people. Off to the side, along the front walls, Liam could see engravings depicting the sacrifice of enemy warriors and captives to the moon God. Bloody handprints had been placed onto the walls of the temple, he wasn't sure why, but these probably held some form of religious significance amongst the people.

About 40, 8-foot-tall Amazonian women pulled open the large doors, scraping the stone floor as they did so, revealing the inside of the temple. Liam followed Morgarina Into the temple. For a few seconds, it was nightmarishly dark, but the darkness was quickly banished as Amazonian warriors flooded the hall with large piles of burning wood that sat in iron bowls that themselves dwarfed Liam in size. Golden light filled the hall revealing the long row of seats that sat against a magnificently crafted wooden table. At the very end of the temple sat a large stone throne, presumably designed for Morgarina as the leader of the tribe.

Confidently Morgarina strutted over to the throne. Liam was escorted by two warriors over to a smaller wooden chair next to the throne. Designed to shatter his ego; showing him he was lesser than the Amazonians. He had to admit, he was impressed. The subtle messaging Morgarina had placed around the room was quite impressive. Again, it crossed his mind that she’d been either stolen away as a child and forced into her current family or she was somehow adopted, as Liam really couldn't see how she was related to her two sisters.

For a while, they sat in awkward silence as Liam admired the decorative tribal paintings that lined the walls of this great space. Morgarina kept her eyes fixed on Liam, examining every little move he made. Mentally deciding every little action he could take or be thinking of taking. Behind the childlike demeanour that Liam projected towards the Amazons, she could see a far more devious, calculating personality. Or at least that is what she thought.

She had heard the news of how he slaughtered captured warriors. She had heard that Amazons praised him highly for the brutal blood sacrifices he performed. All this seems too perfect to Morgarina. From watching him glance around the room with amazement and intrigue, as well as listening to how he talked earlier, she found herself doubting those rumours. No, it had to be some kind of mind game he was playing with her. After all her spies had brought back so many rumours and stories about him. They had to be true, surely?

Liam’s eyes sparkled as he examined the paintings on the walls. The Amazons didn’t strike him as the artistic type, yet these paintings were of such a quality he guessed they could be sold on the mainland to nobles for a small fortune. Laughing slightly to himself, the thought of how much money he could squeeze from those shit-heads got him thinking.

Morgarina watched carefully as Liam chuckled manically to himself. She was right, he was planning something.

For a while longer, Liam sat in silence. There was an odd tension that hung in the air. Shuffling in his seat, Liam tried to place a finger on the source of this tension. It didn’t feel like hostility, rather it felt like…no, Liam still didn’t know. Even without being able to see the eyes of the Amazons, he could still feel their intense stares following him.

Liam kept his eyes down, choosing to watch his fingers as he waited for the arrival of Yantraki. Looking up from his hands for only a second, Liam saw Morgarina looking in his direction. Her mask prevented him from confirming this, but the thought was enough to unease Liam.

“Do you need anything to drink?” Morgarina asked, seeing Liam was becoming physically nervous.

“I’m fine thank you, to be fully honest I just need a sleep to clear my head,” Liam said, scratching the side of his head, unsure of what to do with his hands.

“If you like, you could use my chambers,” Morgarina offered. Liam waved his hand.

“I’m fine thank you, my work is not yet finished,” Liam said. Morgarina got up from her chair and walked over to Liam. Within a few seconds, her hands grasped his arms.

“I insist, you are a guest here and should be treated as such,” Leaning down to eye level, Morgarina took off her mask.

Her soft white eyes met with his. Seeing that she was probably as stubborn as her two sisters, Liam decided it was best not to argue with the Amazon. Nodding his head, he allowed the warriors to carry him off. She seems like a trustworthy person, so he felt no suspicions that she had any ulterior motives.

Morgarina watched as the warriors carefully carried Liam to her bed chambers. She would give him a proper Amazonian greeting that night, she would assert her dominance over the human and get the upper hand in negotiations.

Liam was carried through the halls of the temple. He didn’t get much time to take in his surroundings as he was placed in the bedroom of Morgarina. The warriors carried him over to a large circular bed that sat in the centre of the room. With an almost terrifying strength, the Amazonians threw him onto the bed and tucked him under the fur blankets. Liam lay stunned at the speed at which the warriors had placed him into bed as if he were a child. One of the Amazons even took the chance to place a soft kiss onto his forehead before leaving the room.

Before he was even fully aware of what was happening, Liam found himself alone in the dark yet comforting room. Seizing the opportunity to finally get this godforsaken day over with, Liam allowed the darkness to take him as he drifted into a deep sleep. The faint sounds of trumpets being blown as the rest of the war party arrived reassured him as he slowly drifted to sleep.

Yantraki’s eyes scanned the scenery for any sign of Liam. His scent was thick in the air as they moved closer to the village and increased in intensity the closer, they got. Soon they found themselves at the bottom of the main temple, its tall blue structure striking a mixture of fear and amazement into the Amazons. He was here, she could smell it. Yantraki’s eyes looked up to see Morgarina standing on the second platform of the temple, waiting for them. It seemed she now had another competitor to compete with for the affection of her human.

Looking to her side, she could see Thorn staring up at her sister. A look of suppressed hatred was smeared across her face. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who was nervous about their sister.